Adobe After Effects is an incredible post-production software that creatives can use to make one-of-a-kind animations, special effects, and video edits. The imagination is the limit for creating amazing videos in Adobe After Effects. It can be used to render 2D and 3D animations, special effects, titles, and more. The application integrates seamlessly with the other Adobe Creative Cloud applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and Media Encoder.
The best way to learn AE is by practicing with these top After Effects tutorials made by video editing experts! In this guide to After Effects tutorials, we have included the best tutorials for learning the basics, animating in After Effects, and creating special effects.
Intermediate and professional video editors can expand their AE skills with these tutorials as well. If you are an intermediate or a professional user, you can check out our last 5 suggestions directly!
Here is our list of the best After Effects tutorials recommended by video production experts:
1. Ben Marriot 🔗
Learn After Effects in 10 Minutes! Beginner Tutorial by Ben Marriot is one of the top-watched After Effect tutorials on Youtube. Ben Marriot is a master of motion graphics and animation in After Effects. In this quick tutorial for After Effects he explains the After Effects interface and shows you how to make a basic animation.
If you do not want to sit through hours-long tutorials that drag on forever, this quick tutorial is perfect for you. This 10-minute After Effects tutorial for beginners gives you an introduction to using After Effects that is easy to understand, fast-paced, and surprisingly thorough for being only 10 minutes long.
2. Creative Tap 🔗
No video edit is complete without sound design. After Effects allows editors to add dialogue, sound effects, and music into a composition.
How to Add and Edit Audio in After Effects CC After Effects Tutorial by Creative Tap is a great guide to audio editing in After Effects for beginners. This tutorial for how to add audio to After Effects projects is an easy-to-understand and super short tutorial at only 3-minutes long. It shows you how to add, edit, and fade audio in and out using keyframes.
3. School of Motion 🔗
Keyboard shortcuts are a key or a combination of keys that are pressed to quickly access a particular function in computer software.
Using keyboard shortcuts makes it significantly easier and faster to create amazing videos in post-production software. Once you practice the essential keyboard shortcuts often enough, using them becomes automatic.
30+ Essential Keyboard Shortcuts in After Effects by School of Motion is a quick guide to all of the keyboard shortcuts that video editors need to know to use After Effects like an expert.
4. Envato Tuts+ 🔗
After Effects for Beginners FREE Mega Course by Envato Tuts+ gives a very thorough and in-depth explanation of the main functions of After Effects, starting at the basics and moving on to more advanced professional video production tools. The video production expert Dave Bode guides you through this free After Effects course.
Learn how to use the interface, create compositions and layers, keyframe, add masks, motion tracking, apply effects, and more with this complete guide to After Effects. This tutorial is over 4-hours long, but it contains everything beginner and intermediate video editors need to know to get started making professional videos in After Effects.
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5. Sonduck Film 🔗
How to Create Cartoon Animation After Effects & Illustrator Workflow Tutorial by Sonduck Film is an easy-to-follow tutorial for creating your first cartoon animation in After Effects. At just under 10-minutes long, this tutorial is quick and easy to watch.
One of the best things about After Effects is how easy it is to integrate files from other Creative Cloud apps like Illustrator and Photoshop. This Sonduck Film tutorial teaches you how to import graphics from Adobe Illustrator into After Effects and animate them.
6. FLIMLION VisualFX 🔗
Trendy Logo Animation in After Effects - After Effects Tutorial - Simple Logo Animation by FLIMLION VisualFX is a good beginner After Effects tutorial for creating logo animations. This 11-minute tutorial guides you through the process of animating a logo in After Effects.
Custom animated logos for commercial video production is a sought-after skill. Knowing how to create a basic logo animation is a valuable tool for professional video editors to keep in their video editing “toolbelt”.
7. Black Mixture 🔗
AFTER EFFECTS BASICS VFX TUTORIAL by Black Mixture is a great starting tutorial for learning how to apply visual effects in After Effects.
This tutorial teaches you the basics of creating VFX in After Effects and helps you develop the foundation of knowledge that you need to use After Effects as an intermediate or professional video editor. The compositing techniques taught in this tutorial are useful for any After Effects video project.
8. Kriscoart 🔗
Top 10 Hollywood VFX You Can Do Yourself With Adobe After Effects by Kriscoart goes a step beyond the basics and guides you through creating 10 different Hollywood-level effects in After Effects.
This tutorial is perfect for intermediate to professional video editors who want to take their VFX skills in After Effects up a notch. Kriscoart is a Youtube channel dedicated to making professional video production tutorials and resources accessible to video editors.
9. Peter Kae 🔗
Dynamic Camera to FACE MOTION TRACKING Technique In 5 Minutes Explained! After Effects 2020 Tutorial by Peter Kae is a quick and easy-to-understand After Effects motion tracking tutorial from an industry expert.
The motion tracking and facial tracking functions of After Effects are part of why AE is the go-to special effects software for video post-production. This 5-minute video tutorial is a great starting point for learning how to create incredible visual effects with motion tracking in After Effects.
10. ActionVFX 🔗
Realistic Rain At Night Using VFX Adobe After Effects Tutorial by ActionVFX teaches you how to add rain to any night scene in an easy-to-follow 18-minute tutorial video.
Adding rain is easy in After Effects, but making it appear realistic takes some skill. This tutorial by ActionVFX uses a combination of composited video footage and motion tracking to create a realistic rainy night scene in After Effects.
11. Olufemii 🔗
Specializing in a variety of video production topics and topping out at over 304K subscribers, Olufemii is a group of video production educators teaching the tricks of the trade. Viewers here can find a variety of great video production content, including equipment specs, Premiere Pro tutorials, music video production, and motion design, to name just a few.
Specific to After Effects, it’s worth noting that their playlist Dope After Effects Tutorials covers everything in After Effects, from clone freeze effects to removing objects from videos, and everything in between. The best part about these videos is the cross collaboration of the different educators, taking expertise from each of the teachers involved in the tutorials.
12. Gareth David Studio 🔗
Hosted by Gareth David, the Gareth David Studio is a channel for creators in a variety of different industries, learning skills in softwares such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and After Effects. David has worked as a creative freelancer in design for both print and digital, branding, and logo identity. With tutorials in a wide range of topics, this channel is one hub for creators looking to learn more and expand their knowledge.
In relation to content for After Effects, the playlist Learn Adobe After Effects 48 Episode Free Course is an incredible resource for learning everything from the basics in After Effects to finally putting together a video production piece from scratch. No need to pay for a course, you can find top quality classes for free here!
13. tutvid 🔗
Tutvid is a channel hosted by Nathaniel Dodson covering tutorials on a variety of softwares such as Premiere Pro, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Lightroom, to name just a few. Working as a photographer and designer, Dodson has had experience in the design and creative field since he first gained exposure to Photoshop at the age of 12. Since then, he has made quite a lot of content on his personal website getting people up to speed with all of the latest creation topics.
Specific to After Effects, viewers here can find his playlist After Effects Tutorials which includes topics such as simple animations, smooth split screens, and fireball effects. If you have made your way down to this part of the list, tutvid is one channel highly recommended for any creator in the industry.
14. Black Mixture 🔗
Last but certainly not least is Black Mixture, topping out at over 179K Subscribers. This channel is hosted by the couple Nate and Chriselle, who love working in digital mediums such as filmmaking, photography, graphic design, and motion design to name just a few.
In their playlist section, viewers here can find After Effects Tutorials which walks you through everything from which effects are the best in the software to various plugins that can be used with the software. In another playlist, Top 10 Crazy After Effects Techniques covers their favorite techniques to implement in their workflow.
Thanks for checking out our list of the top After Effects tutorials! We hope that these new skills will be useful to you in all your future video editing projects. You can find additional After Effects tutorials directly from the team at Adobe by clicking here.
Keep coming back to our blog for more tips and tricks from video production experts!
